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It was un-complicated dinner here. It had been a long day. I just wanted to step outside, fire up my grill with a griddle, and make some buttery smash burgers. Uncomplicated doesn’t mean un-tasty. Buttery buns with buttery patties and a little cheese and onion were all I needed. I could’ve loaded them up, lettuce, tomato, that stuff. But not today. Just give me easy. And good.
It’s Really Easy
The ingredient list for these buttery smash burgers may seem longer than your average burgers but they aren’t that complicated. They’re pretty easy. And fun. And mighty tasty. You don’t have to put everything on your burgers. Heck, you can keep them as simple as you like.
The equipment
Here’s the equipment I use. You can get by using two cast iron skillets. Use a larger skillet for cooking the burgers, and a smaller one to smash the burgers and keep them flat. Since I’m a cooking gadget collector, I prefer to use a few more tools.
The griddle
First, a griddle. You can buy griddles that sit on top of your grill grates or ones that replace them. Just about every grill I have has a griddle on it. I use them for a lot of things, not just smash burgers. You want one that can be placed over the hottest part of your grill so it gets screaming hot.
Of course, you can also buy a dedicated griddle, such as a Blackstone or Weber Slate.
- Dual-Sided Plate: The Lodge Pro-Grid Reversible…
- Time-Tested Even Heat Distribution: This durable…
A burger press
Next, you need a burger press. You can use a heavy cast iron skillet, like I mentioned. Or get a burger press. For easy cleanup I wrap mine in foil first. When I’m done, just peel off the foil and toss. Super easy. Get a press that’s at least big enough to cover two burgers. You only smash one at a time, but if you want to keep them flat, you want to rest the press on top so bigger (and heavier) is better. Plus I’ve found that a bigger, heavier press tends to stay on the burgers whereas a smaller, lighter one is hard to keep centered on the burgers, especially if you have a bunch of them cooking at once.
- Food-Grade Cast Iron Burger Press : Our barbeque…
- Grooved Bottom Design&Non-Stick Surfaces : Our…
A dome
Next up, a dome. While not 100% required, it does speed the time it takes to melt the cheese and it does it in a nice even fashion. In my opinion you don’t really need one if you’re using a super melty cheese, such as American, but for thicker slices like say a deli pepper jack, you want the cheese to melt before you over-cook the burger and that’s where a dome comes in handy.
- EVEN MELTING: Traps heat under the dome to quickly…
- ENHANCED FLAVOR: Griddle dome retains moisture to…
- 2 Pack of 6″ diameter domes
- Concentrates heat to cook evenly
Cleaning time!
Lastly, you need something to clean your griddle. I like to clean mine when I’m done cooking, but you can do it at the start instead. I use one of these pad holders with a griddle cleaning pad. Then I add a bit of water to my griddle then use the pad (connected to the holder) to scrub off any big chunks and get up some of the grease. I don’t go crazy with it, I always heat the heck out of my griddle before cooking, but I get the worst. The long arm on the pad holder makes it perfect for scrubbing a hot griddle, too.
- TOUGH CLEANING POWER: Very tough, non-rusting…
- LONG-LASTING: High quality bonding resin system…
My copycat of McAlister’s potato salad is a great side dish for these burgers!
Buttery Smash Burgers
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter softened, divided
- 4 hamburger buns
- 1 pound ground beef divided into 4 ounce balls
- kosher salt to taste
- ground black pepper to taste
- 4 slices American cheese
- 4 teaspoons ketchup more or less, to taste, divided
- 4 teaspoons prepared yellow mustard more or less, to taste, divided
- 4 teaspoons mayonnaise more or less, to taste, divided
- 12 dill pickle chips divided
- ½ cup iceberg lettuce shredded, divided
- 8 slices tomato divided
- ½ red onion thinly sliced, divided
Instructions
For the smash burgers
- Fire up your grill for medium-high heat. Place a griddle or a large cast iron pan over the highest heat.
- Spread half of the butter on the cut sides of the buns.
- Add the buns to the griddle cut-sides down and grill until nicely toasted. Remove to a plate.
- Add remaining butter to the griddle and swirl it around as it melts.
- Add the balls of ground beef. Let them cook untouched for 2 minutes then flatten out with a spatula or burger press.
- Season the tops liberally with salt and pepper and cook another minute.
- Flip the patties and season again.
- Let the patties cook until you start to notice a little char along the edges.
- Top patties with cheese and let cook another 30 seconds to melt the cheese.
- Remove the patties and place on bun bottoms.
- Add remaining ingredients to assemble the burgers.
- Devour immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional values are approximate.
- Here’s your 5-piece set for griddle success…
- Get creative with the right tools to make your own…
Easy. And good.